Roller cotton-gin



(No-Mode1.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1. M. PRIOR. ROLLER GOTTON GIN.

No. 511,711. Pate-nt ed.Deo.- 26, 1893.

70/736) oesses ms mrnomu. umceRAPm'Na COMPANY.

WASHXNGTON, a c.

('No Model.) 2 Shets-Eheet 2.

M. PRIOR.

ROLLER COTTON GIN. No. 511,711. Patented Dec. 26, 1893 tans ATENT t mes,

MATTHEIV PRIOR, OF \VATERTOIVN, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNEASSIGNMENTS, TO THE CENTURY COTTON COMPANY, OF IVEST VIRGINIA.

ROLLER COTTON-GIN.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 511,711, dated December26, 1893 Application filed January 31, 1893. Serial No. 460,197. (Nomodel.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, MATTHEW PRIOR, of IVatertown, county of Middlesex,State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement in RollerCotton-Gins, of which the following description, in connection with theaccompanying drawings, is a specification, like letters and numerals onthe drawings representing like parts.

to This invention has for its object to provide an improved rollercotton-gin, the invention having especial reference to the constructionof the roller.

Prior to this invention, rollers for cotton- I 5 gins have been coveredwith leather, canvas,

and other soft or yielding material, such materials being consideredpreferable for catching and drawing the cotton fiber from the seeds.From the nature of the cotton fiber I became convinced that the bestresults might be attained in roller gins by providing the roller with agreat number of fine points, and yet these points must be yielding andnonmetallic, and as a result of my experiments I have devised a novelroller the use of which materially increases the capacity of the gin.

My improved roller has at its periphery a series of hairs the pointsof-which engage the cotton fiber. These hairs, horse hair or bris- 0tles, stand with their ends directed outwardly, and act very effectuallyto draw the cotton from the seeds, yet without tearing or breaking thefiber of the cotton.

Another important feature of the invention Figure 1 represents in sideelevation one form'of cotton-gin embodying this invention; Fig. 2, a topor plan view thereof; Fig. 3, a vertical section on an enlarged scale,the section being taken on the dotted line 50-40, Fig. 2 5

Fig. 4, a detail showing the construction of the roller, and Fig. 5, aperspective detail on an' enlarged scale showing one of the completedroller sections before it is coiled about a core, the dotted linesshowing the manner of coiling the same about the core.

Referring to the drawings, in the particular form of cotton-gin shown,the frame consists of the two suitably connected side plates or frames Aof proper shape to sustain the various working parts. The main shaft a,journaled in suitable bearings in the frame and provided at one end withthe fast and loose pulleys a, a and at its opposite end with the balanceor hand wheel 00 has fast upon it a spur-wheel a in mesh with anddriving a spur wheel a fast on one end of the roller shaft]; on which ismounted between the side frames A, the roller B of a construction to behereinafter set forth. Above this roller is arranged a vibrating hopperC, pivoted at c in bearings in the frame, and having an outlet opening cat its bottom above the roller, said hopper at each side having jointedto it at c, the ends of like eccentric rods 0 actuated by eccentrics con a shaft 0 to vibrate the hopper horizontally. The shaft o is rotatedbya pinion c in mesh with the spur-gear a Fig. 1. The eccentric 8o rods0 are made adjustable as to their length by means of the nuts 5 tothereby vary the position of the outlet c with relation to the roller.One side of the outlet opening c is formed by the clearer-bar d securedto the hopper, while the other side of the said opening is formed by theU-shaped bar e, pivoted for adjustment at e to the sides of the hopper,and adapted to be moved to vary the size or width of the outlet openingaccording 0 as it is moved on its pivots toward or from the clearer (Z,it being held frictionally in adjusted position by tightening of thepivot screws 6. r i

F is the knife blade, the carrier f of which 9 5 is pivoted at f to theframe and is provided with bosses into which are screwed the ends of therods f connected at their lower ends to the hand levers f pivoted at fsaid rods, in the present instance, being extend- 10o ed through holesin the said levers close to the fulcra of the latter, a thumb-nut beingthreaded upon the ends of the box below the levers. Springs f arepreferably interposed between the thumb-nuts and levers to give to themachine a slight yield .or elasticity. 5 Springs f act to raise theknife from the periphery of the rollers when the machine is not in use,but when in use, the knife may be drawn down upon the roller withgreater or less force by depressing the levers f retaining devices f, onthe frame holding the levers in desired position.

When the hopper is moved into its posi-' tion Fig. 3, its outlet c isclosed by the stationary plate g, which prevents escape of the cotton,said plate being shown as pivoted at g, and thereby adjustable to varythe distance between its under side and the knife F, according to thevarious sizes of seeds which'dilferent grades of cotton contain. Inpractice this plate is adjusted to leave a space between it and theknife just sufficient to permit the bare seeds of the cotton to passthrough, so that any seeds from which the cotton fiber has not beencompletely removed are prevented from escaping until stripped of theirfiber, after which they escape to make room for additional seeds. Theplate 9 is held in adjusted position by the screws g passed throughslots in the upturned ends of the plate. See Fig. 8.

The amount of roller surface which is exposed beneath the outlet of thehopper is varied by means of the shield h, supported by brackets h, theshield being adjustable toward and from the edge of the knife F, bymeans of screws h passed through slots in the shield. A shaft 2', beltedto and driven by the shaft see Fig. 3,0arries a doffer i, which, as itrevolves, brushes the cotton fiber from the roller upon the apron I.

The machine having been set in operation the cotton to be seeded isplaced in the vibrating hopper O, the vibrations of the hopper agitatingthe cotton so that the latter more easily moves toward the outlet. Asthe hopper in its vibrating movements reaches a position with its outletdirectly above the exposed surface of the roller between theshield andthe knife, the said roller, revolving in the direction of the arrow Fig.3, catches the cotton fiber and draws the same down between the surfacesof the roller and the knife, the clearer d at the next vibration of thehopper pushing the seeds down over the top of the 5 knife to therebyunrollthe fiberfrom the seeds,

the fiber thus unrolled being drawn down between the roller and knife asthe seed is pushed back by the bar a, when the hopper returns to itscentral position, this unrolling and taking up of the fiber beingcontinued until the seeds are cleared when they roll .,down the knife Fand other seeds take their place to pass through the same operation.

The bar e may be adjusted to vary the size 65 of the outlet according tothe grade of cotton being treated, and the exposed area of the rollersurface may also be varied by means of the adjustable shield 71., toaccommodate various grades of cotton, for with some grades if. theexposed roller surface be too great the machine will be choked, hencethe necessity for means to regulate the area of such surface.

The best way known to me for utilizing hair or bristles in themanufacture of my improved roller, is to weave the hair or bristles asthe weft of a fabric, the warp being of cotton, linen or other thread.This fabric is then cut into strips either parallel with the warp or onthe bias, and said narrow strips are then placed one upon another eitherwith or without interposed strips of canvas, rubber or other softmaterial but preferably rubber, un-

til a section of sufficient width has been formed. This section which,if a rubber is used, is preferably vulcanized to thereby bind thebristles and the interposed rubber layers together is then bent about orlaid upon the periphery of a core, and again vulcanized while on thecore the edges of the strips forming the'surface of the roll, other likesections beinglaidupon thecoreinsimilarmanner,with

broken joints, until the entire'roll has been formed in this manner, thesections so applied constituting a covering for the core, the

entire surface of the roll being formed by the edges of the strips laidupon the core, the

has a wood or other core I), about whichare coiled the several sections12 of bristle-like material, the joints of the several sections beingbroken, as shown in Fig. 4. Each section b is made up of hair-cloth, orother bristlelike material, and canvas, rubber or other material, asdescribed. The ends of the exposed hairs furnish a roller surface whichcatches the cotton fiber and draws the same off from the seeds much morerapidly than a smooth or soft roller, and this too without in any waybreaking orinjuring the fibers. The use of this roller with its greaterdrawing capacity greatly increases the capacity of the machine over themachines employing the ordinary roller.

The term hair as employed in the claim includes not only the hair ofhair-cloth, but bristles, whale-bone strips, or any recognizedequivalent of hair which possesses the qualities which the hairpossesses for catching and drawing in the cotton fiber.

The length of the vibrations of the hopper 0 maybe varied by adjustingthe connecting point C of the eccentric rod 0 in the slot 0 provided forthat purpose. The vibrations of the hopper being in a plane parallelwith the floor do not set up the excessive vibrations in the buildingwhich result from a vertical vibration.

This invention is notlimited to the particular arrangement, shape orconstruction of the various parts herein shown, as the same may bevaried without departing from the scope of the invention.

I claim-- 1. The herein described rubber roller for cotton gins, thesame consisting of a core about which are coiled one or more previouslyformed sections of covering, each covering section consisting ofalternate layers of hair or its described equivalent and rubber materialvulcanized together and coiled about the core and again vulcanized uponthe core with the edges of said layers forming the outer peripheralsurface of the roller, whereby the ends of the said hairs are exposed atthe periphery of said roller, substantially as described.

2. In a roller cotton gin, the combination with a roller, of a vibratinghopper located above the same and having its outlet adjacent the saidroller, a knife, and a co-operating vibrating clearer, to operate,substantially as described.

3. In a roller cotton gin, the combination with a roller, of a vibratinghopper having its outlet adjacent the said roller, a clearer on saidhopper, and a knife, substantially as described.

4. In a roller cotton gin, a roller, a knife, and a vibrating clearerco-operating there with, combined with a shield arranged facing saidknife but separated therefrom to leave a portion of the roller surfaceexposed, and adjusting devices for and whereby said shield may be movedtoward and from said knife to vary the area of exposed roller surfacebetween, substantially as described.

5. In a roller cotton gin, a roller, combined with a vibrating hopperarranged above the same, and having an adjustable outlet opening wherebyto Vary the quantity of cotton discharged from the hopper, a fixedknife, and a co-operating vibrating clearer to act upon the cottondelivered to the roller from said hopper, the quantity of cottondelivered being varied in accordance with the speed of movement of thevibrating clearer, substantially as described.

6. In a roller cotton gin, a roller, combined with a movable knife, ahandle, and a rod connecting the same with the said knife, whereby theoperator by movement of said handle is enabled to throw said knifequickly away from and out of contact with said roller when the gin isnot in use to prevent creasing or injuring the roller, and lockingdevices for said handle, substantially as described.

7. In a roller cotton gin, a roller, a fixed knife-bearing upon thesame, and a vibrating clearer, combined with a bar arranged above andmovable toward and from the upper side of said knife to form a variableopening between it and the knife through which the cotton seeds freed bythe clearer may escape, the width of said opening being varied toaccommodate various sizes of seed, substantially as described.

8. In a roller cotton gin, a roller, and a vibrating hopper above thesame, combined with a bar to close the'outlet of said hopper when thelatter is vibrated away from the said roller, substantially asdescribed.

9. In a roller cotton gin, a roller, combined with a movable knife, ahandle, a connection between the same and said knife, and a springinterposed in said connection whereby a yielding movement is obtained topress the knife upon said roller, substantially as described.

10. In a roller cotton gin, a roller, combined with a movable knife F,its carrier f, rod f handle f springs f and f and the locking device fsubstantially'as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

MATTIIEYV PRIOR.

